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IPhone 4 Pay As You Go Plans May Be Good Bargains For Some Owners

By Richard Overton

The brand new iPhone 4 is out and along with increased capabilities there is even the option to use iPhone 4 pay as you go plans instead of the traditional contract with a carrier. Not every user of an iPhone wants a contract with a carrier and the monthly commitment of payment whether they use the phone heavily or not. Heavy phone users or those who stream large amounts of data each month might be the exception but the light user may well find prepaid phone service to be a good deal.

All those extras that come with the iPhone 4 are drawing record numbers of Apple phone fans and some of the newest applications such as streaming Netflix through the iPhone are also very bandwidth intensive. A phone owner who plans on streaming movies via their iPhone may find the prepaid plans a bit more expensive than they planned.

For those persons whose credit is less than perfect a prepaid plan may well be the ideal alternative to enjoy their new iPhone 4. In that case the more expensive rates of prepaid plans are offset by the availability of service. In addition many phone users enjoy the ability the change carriers as they desire without a penalty being applied.

To use some prepaid options an unlocked iPhone 4 is necessary. Apple provides unlocked versions of their phones and these will permit the user to put in the SIM card from the carrier of their choice. A phone purchased from a provider is normally locked and can only be used with that carrier, this is usually true whether the plan is pay as you go or monthly contract.

Carriers provide national coverage in most cases, in the US and UK there are several options for carriers who will provide service for the iPhone 4 on a pay a prepaid basis. Rates vary with the provider and the prospective customer would be wise to review their patterns of phone use prior to deciding on a carrier.

The cost of an iPhone 4 is a little on the high side since it is the peak of Apple phone technology. The unlocked iPhone 4 will be somewhat more expensive than one which the carrier subsidizes. However, the good point to an unlocked phone is that when using a pay as you go plan the phone owner can change providers without changing phones.

Not every phone owner is going to find a prepaid plan right for them, but it is an option that will be attractive and beneficial to some users. Plans which fit the use pattern of the phone user can be cost effective and a person who texts a lot or uses data transmission services might choose a prepaid plan with lower bandwidth rates. On the other hand someone who makes a lot of calls but does little else with their iPhone might find a company with a higher data transfer rate but a lower per call rate a better deal.

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